Five Thousand Years
by Daine
Summary: When he was born, I felt it. His presence was the first thing I felt in five thousand years. A Yami Bakura fic. New chapter 328.
1. Five Thousand Years

A/N: This idea would not go away, so I wrote it. This is not a Yami-beats-Bakura fic, nor is it a Yami Bakura redemption fic. Its just…well, read it for yourself, and please review to tell me what you think. 

Insert standard disclaimer here. 

Five Thousand Years 

When he was born, I felt it.

It's dark inside the ring – dark and featureless. There is no floor, no walls, no ceiling. You walk and your feet don't seem to carry you anywhere. You trip and fall on nothingness. You scream and the darkness swallows up the sound as if it was never there.

Eventually you stop. Stop moving, stop caring, stop thinking. You drift, lost in a timeless void.

I should have died.

No doubt he who imprisoned me expected me to – either that or go mad in my constant isolation. Maybe I am mad. But I am alive. 

The Pharaoh meant to trap my soul within the ring for all eternity – but as always, he overestimated himself. No mortal, no matter how powerful, can seal away a human soul forever. Even the cards that Pegasus made would have eventually disintegrated, destroyed by the sheer energy of what they contained. Pharaoh realized this at the last minute, while he was still deep in the grip of magic he didn't fully understand – and this is where he got creative. He knew he did not have the power to finish the spell to lock me away, so he stopped it – ended the spell and sealed the ring with only half of my soul forced inside. 

No words can express the agony of having my soul ripped in half. Caught between two worlds, my consciousness stretched until it snapped, and I suppose it is only luck that it snapped into the ring instead of the mortal world. I could only assume that the part of my soul in the real world withered and died, to be taken to Osirus. But in the ring – ah, in the ring I had the last laugh, for I survived. In constant agony, yes, barely holding onto the threads of sanity, yes, constantly alone – yes, all of these things, but I endured. In the end my strength overcame even the worst of the Pharaoh's punishments, proving once and for all my superiority. 

Despite my obvious supremacy, I could not escape from the ring. For centuries and more I languished within it, though I did not age. Souls do not grow old; it is only the weak flesh that ages and dies. Even as my earthly form decayed, my soul – shattered as it was – retained its potency. Yet one more thing that the pathetic Pharaoh failed to realize.

At first I clung to this faintest of hopes – that the Pharaoh, in his ignorance, had left some loophole, some way out of this hell. I clung to the belief that he did not know that my spirit endured, that someday his guard would drop and I would escape to wreak my revenge upon him and his descendants. However, this belief could not sustain me through five thousand years of imprisonment. Eventually, I stopped caring. My memories deserted me, leaving only the pain of my shattered soul as companionship – until even that became such a part of me that I no longer took note of it. Reality was pain, and acknowledging it would be as senseless as taking a moment each day to realize that I had two feet. There was nothing but the pain, until the time that _he_ came. His presence was the first thing I felt in five thousand years.  

It came without warning – a sudden awareness, like a flickering light in a nearby room. The deviance from the unchanging pattern of the ring was mind-blowing. Then the flicker exploded in a blaze of soft, pure white light. 

The light seared my eyes and I screamed, turning away from it in a desperate attempt to escape back into the darkness. For an immeasurable time I hid from the light, until my eyes adjusted and I could face its radiance without flinching. It was then that I discovered something I had not noticed during my frantic attempts to flee. The pain that I had lived with for millennia, that was as much a part of me as my spine – it was gone.

Just like that. 

My ripped soul had been a never-healing raw wound inside of me. Yet this light seemed to reach down to the depths of my being, illuminating all my suffering and soothing the rough, painful edges of my soul. Its rays were a healing balm to my battered and numbed senses, and within moments I knew that I needed this light more than anything else in the entire world.

I hated it immediately.

The light was formless, yet I sensed an intellect within it, a mind that was not truly present in the ring. I hated it for that, hated that it was not truly there and suffering with me. I despised it for taking so long to come and relieve me of my torment, and perversely I cursed it for taking away the pain that had become my only proof that I still lived. The light awakened my mind and forced it into action for the first time in millennia, and I hated it for that as well, for taking away my catatonic mental state. It had been so easy not to think! Now even the escape of drifting within my own mind was lost to me. 

Slowly my memory returned. I remembered my life, my history, my capture, and finally I realized the only thing this light could be. I had been foolish to think that the half of my soul in the mortal world had gone to Osirus – the god of the underworld would surely not accept only half of a soul. For five thousand years I had cheated death, and now death, in its own time, had caught up to me. The light in the sky could only be the other half of my soul, reborn in the mortal world. I had no doubt that someday I would find this new incarnation and reclaim what belonged to me. I would have a complete soul again – and then the god of the underworld would come and claim me at last. Osirus waited for me; the crocodile that lies beneath the scales of Anubis snapped its jaws in anticipation of my heart. The darkest hearts are, of course, the tastiest morsels, and mine was a promise that was five thousand years overdue. 

I knew all this to be true – but now, with my escape seemingly looming on the horizon, my ambitions returned full force. I had defied death for this long, and I would not calmly submit to it now. There was a way to escape it – the Millennium Items. The second my soul was complete again, I would find the items and escape death forever. It would be my final and lasting revenge upon the Pharaoh. Oh, the irony! He had imprisoned me in order to "save" his kingdom and punish a horrible criminal, and in doing so he had only ensured my reappearance. I would go and conquer a world in which my enemies were long dead, and there would be no one to stop me. 

So as the light shone brightly in the darkness of the ring, I lay quietly and drew strength from its rays, waiting for the time when fate would make me whole again. 

Some time later – it could have been days, months, even years – my chance came. The light that had become a constant fixture inside the ring suddenly pulsed with brightness. It expanded, growing until it threatened to utterly consume my prison. I stepped into it without fear. Fate had finally intervened.

The light had once again blinded me, but I knew immediately where I was. I could smell something cooking. I could hear the sound of birds, and something similar to a door slamming – the first sounds I had heard in five thousand years. They seemed unnaturally loud to my ears. I heard quick, frightened breaths and burned with the need to see the person to whom they belonged – and finally, finally, my vision cleared.

I saw a young boy with long white hair staring up at me, half in fear, half in awe. It was like looking into a mirror, exactly as I remembered myself from all those years ago. I smiled, and a sadistic joy filled my heart. I was free. I would find the Millennium Items, and then I would track down all of the Pharaoh's descendants and destroy them one by one. It didn't matter how many years it had been; I would still find them. My revenge would be complete – and it would start with this boy, whose shining soul had so long taunted me with dreams of escape. 

Watch out, Pharaoh. I'm back – and this time, things are going to be very, very different. 

_Please review._


	2. Problems

A/N: :: blinks:: Wow. I'm stunned. I had intended this to be a one-shot fic to satisfy my curiosity about Yu-Gi-Oh! – I never dreamed that people would actually want more of it. I hope I don't disappoint you. Do you still want more? Tell me, please! I have never written Yu-Gi-Oh! before, and I'd really like some feedback about characterization and the like. Thank you!

Five Thousand Years 

It wasn't long before I realized a serious complication in my plan to gain all seven Millennium Items. I had assumed that once I was released from the ring, my soul would knit completely back together and I would simply control the physical body that my other half had previously inhabited. After all, it was my soul, if admittedly reborn after five thousand years. It should have joined seamlessly with me and given me complete power over its vessel – what was the boy's purpose, after all, but to provide me with a physical form? 

I had not counted on a separate, living intellect. I had certainly not counted on that intellect being quite opposed to giving up control of "his" body. The other half of my soul had gained a mind and personality of its own, and much to my consternation, I could not force it out.

My only choice was to suppress the other mind as much as possible. I quickly found that I could force the boy – who I later learned was named Ryou – into a place inside his head and then control his body. Of course, I did this as much as possible – but that raised even more problems.

It seemed that my vessel had developed a reputation for being quiet, reserved, and gentle. I discovered this after his father sent me to a counselor because of my "radically different" attitude. He suspected that "I" was using drugs. I quickly realized that I would have to continue to act like my host had to avoid suspicion. Frustratingly, my magical powers were nowhere near their full strength, and I could not deal with these problems the way I preferred to. I was also leery of leaving my host's hometown to find the items. He would undoubtedly be searched for, which I certainly did not want. Not to mention that during the time I was imprisoned, the world had undergone serious changes. I could survive in the back alleys of Cairo and the harsh Sahara Desert, but this new metal and glass world left me angry and confused more often than not. I had to come up with a new plan.

I finally decided that I would have to wait before I claimed the Items. I needed time to adjust to this strange new world, time to adjust to being alive again. I also gradually understood that Ryou was expected to go away in a few years, for further schooling. I could disappear then without causing undue worry. 

It grated on my nerves to wait that long, but five thousand years in prison had taught me patience. A few years were barely a drop in a bucket to someone of my age. That would also give me time to deal with a far more immediate problem.

I had given Ryou back limited control over his body. He controlled it during that hellish time he referred to as "school" and at any time when he had to interact with his father. That way he seemed perfectly normal to everyone who might care about him and I did not have to sit through the agonizing boredom of a schoolroom. Of course, I made sure that he would not even think of telling anyone else about me – I can be very persuasive when I want to be. It was on one of those school days, when Ryou was walking home, that I discovered this gigantic setback. 

Ryou had gotten out of school late for some reason or another. He seemed unaccountably nervous as he walked towards his house; the only reason I noticed was because I insisted he keep his mind open to me at all times. The waves of anxiety that washed over me from him were extremely irritating. I was about to chide him for it when I realized that he was walking much more quickly than normal. That was decidedly odd, since Ryou liked to dawdle in hopes of delaying my return to his body.

I found out what the problem was very quickly. An ugly, brutish boy stepped out of a nearby alleyway and set himself deliberately in Ryou's way. Now fear had joined the anxiety in his mind. I stirred restlessly in my soul room. What was wrong with my ridiculous vessel? Sure, the other boy was bigger and older, but that meant nothing if you knew where to hit. I had taken down countless thugs like this in Egypt who had mistaken my slight frame for lack of strength.

The goliath grinned cruelly and punched Ryou in the stomach. I mentally shook my head – he should have expected that. I waited for Ryou to get up. 

He didn't.

Ryou lay on the ground, gasping for breath, and the thug moved in to punch him again. He was saying something that was supposed to be threatening – apparently the two knew each other from somewhere. I didn't care – it was becoming increasingly apparent that Ryou was not going to get back up.

Disbelief ran through me. I took over the body without a thought – I couldn't allow my vessel to be too damaged. The boy certainly seemed surprised when I stood up, which only confirmed my earlier suspicions. My host could not fight!

The very thought was preposterous. How could you survive without fighting? I had been a champion street fighter in Cairo, and I had assumed that my reincarnation would have similar skills. I was once again very mistaken.

I finished off the boy in a matter of moments and left. I didn't know if he was alive and I didn't care – my entire mind was bent on solving this incredibly unfortunate dilemma. Since I did not yet have enough power to take a physical form, the only way for me to interact in the real world was to use the body Ryou provided me with. I knew that stealing all of the Millennium Items would be difficult – whoever owned them would surely not be willing to give them up – and I was prepared for that, but not if my body had such severe physical limitations! I had won the fight earlier through cheap tricks and the element of surprise, but I couldn't always count on that.

I concluded that the boy would have to be trained. It began that very night. 

Ryou had just gotten into bed when I addressed him. _Get up, _I commanded. He obeyed, but slowly. I growled slightly at the insubordination. _Why? _he asked me.

_It is time for your training, _I replied. I took over his form and ran out of the house towards a nearby park. For the next three hours I put Ryou's body through a series of calisthenics and strengthening exercises. His body jumped, rolled, punched, and ran a mile under my direction. I made sure that Ryou, still in his soul room, had a "window" of sorts so that he could see what I was doing. After his body was exhausted, I took him back to his house. The following night I made him do it again – but this time I stayed in my soul room, and Ryou controlled the body.

This set the pattern for the next two months. I would show Ryou ways to strengthen his body one night, and he would repeat them the next. At first, he was very vocal about his reluctance to fight, but he learned quickly to obey me – it was easier to do the exercises without extra bruises. I was very good at causing the most pain with the least amount of effort – no point in destroying the body I had to inhabit. I just gave Ryou an incentive to do what I asked without question.

Finally I judged him physically strong enough to go to the next level. Ryou's slender frame would never bulge with muscles, but that was good. He had a deceptive sort of strength that was not apparent on the outside, which led people to underestimate him. People had died back in Egypt for making that mistake about me. That night I did not take Ryou out of the house. Instead, I brought him into his own mind to face me directly. 

Our metaphysical forms fought that night, in the first of many brutal yet effective lessons in street fighting. 

Fighting in Ryou's mind was very handy, since I could not materialize into a physical body. The bruises received in the mind were echoed in the body, giving Ryou a painful reminder to improve the next time. Over the course of a month, I taught Ryou all the cheap, dirty fighting tricks I had learned in my years on the streets, as well as knife fighting and hand-to-hand combat. I was determined to make a fighter out of him, if only to be able to use his body more effectively. I also hoped that his damned smiling optimism would gradually be beaten out of him. His bloody _cheerfulness_ about life drove me nearly insane some days – except when we fought. Then there was sadness and a grim sort of determination to survive the lesson. It was not the attitude I preferred him to have, but it was better than outright rejection of fighting techniques. 

After three months, I decided that it was time for the final test. When Ryou left his last period class, I took over. I led him to the place where he had been ambushed the last time and waited, making a concerted effort to look helpless and pitiful. It was not an easy task. 

Before long, my patience was rewarded. A large man swaggered around the corner, grinning toothily at Ryou. He could have been the first idiot's twin. "Well, what have we here? A little Bakura-rat out on his own?" 

I dropped my "scared and helpless" act and gave him a vicious smile. He stepped back in surprise. "Hey, what gives, rat?" I simply grinned nastily at him – and gave control of the body back to Ryou. _What's going on? _he asked nervously. He looked ahead of him. _Oh no! Yami, what did you do?_

I growled a little at his impertinence (he had dubbed me "Yami" early on, a name I hated) but answered him. _This is your test,_ I said. _Show me what you have learned! _While Ryou gibbered mentally in shock, the brute stepped forward and swung at Ryou's chest.

I did not feel the pain, of course, but I could hear Ryou's mental cry of anguish as he reeled backwards. The neanderthal in front of him grinned cruelly and slammed his fist into Ryou's gut. Mentally, I rolled my eyes – a gesture I had picked up in my occasional observances of Ryou's school. He always was slow to attack. I waited none too patiently for Ryou to get back up and retaliate. He could recite the best ways to attack a thug like this in his sleep, and I should know – I've made him do so.

Another punch rocked his body. I became impatient. _Fight him, you idiot! What are you waiting for, an invitation? _

Ryou's reply was thick with pain, but it was clear. _No._

For a moment I was sure I had heard him wrong. _NO?_ I bellowed through his mind. _You **worm**! This is not a stupid game, this is not training, this is real! He's not going to stop just because you want him to! **Fight him**!_

He could not respond as the repeated blows stole his ability to form conscious thought, but his intention was obvious. 

Rage and disbelief in equal measure halted my powers to respond. Ryou, still cringing beneath the physical and mental blows that rained down on him, managed to choke out, _I don't – don't want to hurt anyone – please, Yami! I don't want to hurt – _

His statement was cut short when the bully threw him against the wall of the alley. I barely heard his scream of agony. I was still lost in the impossible, impossible answer that Ryou had given me. 

Finally pure rage drowned out any thoughts I had. _Don't want to **hurt** anyone? **Damn** you! I'll show you what it means to hurt!_

In a flood of anger I overpowered Ryou's mind, slamming his essence back into its soul room and taking control. But this time, unlike all others, I did not lock him inside. I forced him to see outside of it – I made sure that he was completely aware of everything his body did while he was trapped within it. 

Then I took out my anger and frustration on the pathetic swine's hide.  

I let my rage run unchecked, searing through my brain and burning within my veins. Each blow I delivered was one more grievance, one more hurt; it fueled my wrath until I couldn't see through the haze of red that clouded my vision, couldn't hear my victim's desperate screams, couldn't feel Ryou pounding on his soul room and screaming in agony of his own as he begged me to stop, just stop... 

Finally my blows slowed. I let the long-since-motionless body fall to the ground with no more notice than if it was a clod of dirt. My hands trembled as I locked them into fists, my heart beat erratically, and my breath came in short gasps. The rage had left me cold, burnt out, and empty. I shivered uncontrollably, irrationally wishing for the anger to come back and fill me again. Without it I was so cold…

I stopped my shaking with a force of will. I had not gotten this far without iron control over my emotions. I forced myself to focus, and for the first time in what seemed like an eternity, I was aware of Ryou's presence within my head. His emotions were easy to read – shock, absolute horror, and an agonized sadness radiated from his mind. He seemed to be beyond words.

The cold emptiness that follows rage closed in upon my mind. At once, everything became crystal clear. I knew exactly what I had to do.

When I spoke, my voice was clipped and emotionless. "You no longer have any use to me." Ryou's mind was dazed and uncomprehending. "You will only get in my way."

That seemed to snap him out of it a little. _What are you talking about? _he cried. Then his thoughts turned right back to the body lying at his – our – feet. _Yami – I think you killed him! How could you? How could you murder someone like that?_

Was he _questioning_ me? My anger was coming back now, and I welcomed it, rejoiced as its pure fire cleansed my thoughts and emotions. How could he be so blind? If I hadn't killed the man, he could have killed Ryou. That was life – kill or be killed. How could he, my other half, my bloody _reincarnation_, not understand that?

How _dare_ he not understand that!

The simmering heat of my anger blazed up now and I reveled in it – yes, this was better, this was so much better than the empty void I had felt a while ago; my anger coursed through me and its harsh current filled me with blessed life. Now I could think; now I was powerful and alive. I had wasted so much time, teaching and molding my other half, and he now cast off my labors as worthless! He was supposed to be the other half of my soul, my completion, and yet he refused to fulfill his destiny and mine by joining with me. I had showed him the bitter truths of life and he rejected the facts that stared him in the face. How could my other half be so naïve, so innocent?

So _stupid_!

"If you will not fight with me then I have no use for you," I snarled, fury giving me clear direction and purpose. The Millennium Ring materialized around my neck and glowed radiantly. "Perhaps this will force you to have a _change of heart_!" I ripped Ryou's dueling deck from his pocket and pulled out his favorite card. 

The magic was completed in less time than it took to breathe. I held Ryou's soul in my hand, within his very own Change of Heart card. I made a convulsive movement, as if to rip it in half.

I couldn't do it.

I stood trembling with the card clenched within my fist, willing my body to tear it, demanding my hands move. They stayed stubbornly still, save for the shaking that was gradually growing worse.

An echo of the past came to me – of the Pharaoh sealing the ring mid-spell, ripping my soul in pieces. I remembered the endless agonies of the ring, as the pain became my entire existence. I remembered the day that it stopped.

No matter how angry I was with Ryou, no matter how much I wished him gone, I could not force myself to destroy him. I could not willingly accept that pain again. I knew it, deep within myself, and even as I cursed my weakness my hand moved and placed the card back into Ryou's – no, _my_ – deck. I replaced the deck in my pocket. 

Ryou's form was mine now, to control as I pleased, and his training had made it strong enough to suit my purposes. Nothing stood in the way of my mission. It didn't matter, then, if his essence still lived. He could not escape the card. It was not through any consideration for my other half that I did not destroy him, it was common sense. And perhaps being trapped was a more fitting punishment for his betrayal than death. At least I had gotten rid of his constant presence within my head.

So satisfied, I turned and walked out of the alley, ignoring the curious emptiness that seemed to be spreading through the back of mind. I looked down at my hands and sighed in aggravation. I would just have to hope that I didn't run into anyone until I had washed the blood from my hands. 

_Please review._


	3. Chained

A/N: Thanks so much for the lovely reviews. I am still overwhelmed by the response to this fic, as I never intended it to go beyond one chapter. Since my knowledge of Yu-Gi-Oh is so limited, I hope you will continue to feed me reviews and constructive criticism so that I know if I'm doing this correctly. I apologize for the wait – I finally gave up on waiting for the rerun of the episode I needed to see. Any inaccuracies are due to my faulty memory.  

Disclaimer: See previous chapters.

Five Thousand Years 

_Does this pathetic mortal ever shut up?_ I thought in annoyance as one of Ryou's teachers droned on. Idly I wondered if she would be so talkative in the Shadow Realm, then decided that she would probably babble on about "par-ah-bluhs" even if her only audience were her fellow lost souls. 

I sat in the back of Ryou's math class, staring out the window. As far as I could see, there would be no use for this sort of knowledge in my quest for the Millennium Items, so I ignored her completely. I could easily steal someone's homework later and turn it in with my name on it. The only math concepts I understood and considered valuable were "few" and "many", and then only in connection with riches and Millennium Items, in which case "many" was infinitely preferable to "few." 

My mind wandered. It was at times like this that I almost wished I had not been so hasty as to seal Ryou within his card – he had his uses, however few, and one of those was keeping me from having to sit through class day after day.

Those moments passed very, very quickly. I would never forgive Ryou for his betrayal in refusing to respect my lessons and fight back. He deserved every iota of this punishment.

For the first few days without Ryou, I finally felt free. I knew now that I had been foolish to expect help from my other half – and why should I waste my time trying to join with someone who, by rights, should not exist? His soul was _mine_, his body mine!  The mind known as Ryou had only one purpose – to give me a body and make me susceptible to death once more. Only then would Osirus be satisfied. And yet he had carried on, acting as if he had been wronged and enslaved when everything he had was rightfully mine! I needed nothing from him save his form, and now that I had trained it to perfection, nothing could stand in my path!

It was as if a fever had gripped me. I thought of nothing but possessing the Items; I dreamed of triumphs at night. Yet those heady visions of domination and immortality were interspersed with nightmares – of others, managing to collect the Items before me. Of myself, in chains before a shadowed figure who laughed as he displayed the Items to me, my own Millennium Ring around his neck. These dreams awoke a fire within me. I had to find the items quickly, before someone else beat me to them! I longed to leave, to run; my destiny loomed before me and I eagerly reached for it with both hands. But still, unexpectedly, I was chained.

I still could not leave Domino without instigating a search that I could not afford to come after me. I could not fake my own death because I would be unable to leave a passable imitation of a body. All of the reasons that had held me to Ryou's hometown originally still held true, and now I did not have Ryou to withstand the boredoms of everyday life for me. I had thought myself free only to discover the hidden bonds – until fate stepped in again.

I had endured nearly two weeks of a mortal existence in Ryou's body, and my vaguely formed ideas of banishing all teachers to the Shadow Realm were no longer entirely in jest. As soon as I possessed all the Items, they would be the first people to suffer – or at least, the first after I had tracked down the Pharaoh's descendents. They would suffer _most_ painfully. 

The days were long and predictable, so naturally I had ignored everything in the classroom and sat myself down to simply last out the day. Laughter and conversation swelled around me, tides of communication that surrounded but never managed to touch me. I liked it that way – people did not so much ignore the pale boy they knew as Ryou so much as they looked through him. He was faded, invisible – and so was I. As long as everyone ignored me, I would not have to work so hard to keep up the façade of "normal."

However, today one particular group of people caught my attention. Their conversation was different somehow then on any other day. I turned my head slightly to look at them – 

And my Millennium Ring awakened.

A surge of magic flowed through me; I fought to keep the Ring from manifesting on my chest. It would be hard to explain why an enormous golden necklace had suddenly appeared around my neck. The sudden rush of magic directed my attention irrevocably towards one boy – Yugi Motoh. 

The short boy with the improbable hair sat, as always, surrounded by his friends. He had at one point attempted to befriend Ryou, but I had stopped that liaison the moment I had materialized from the Ring. The last thing I needed was a friend asking awkward questions. Now he and his friends were crowded around a letter he had just received. 

"…Duelist Kingdom?" I heard. I strained my ears to hear more. I had very good hearing, but it was loud in the classroom. Luckily, they were not too far away.

"Three million dollars?" This was loud, and I winced. Joey Wheeler was almost intolerably obnoxious. Then all of my attention was caught by a particular item hanging around Yugi's neck.

_The Millennium Puzzle!_

It could be nothing else. I stared in stupefied amazement, then in almost unbearable excitement. All of this time I had wanted to leave and search for the Millennium Items, and there was one right here in Domino! I cursed the fact that I so seldom paid attention when Ryou was in school – I should have noticed this much sooner. 

I forced myself to calm down and listen. It seemed that the creator of Duel Monsters, Pegasus, was holding a tournament. Yugi, as one of the well-known top duelists, had received an invitation to attend. When I heard where the tournament was to be held, I nearly leapt out of my seat with excitement. 

A private island? This was my chance! I could attack Yugi and recover the puzzle there with no one the wiser. Far away from prying eyes, my chances of being apprehended were virtually nil.  

I decided immediately to sneak onboard the ship to Pegasus's island. Ryou had, of course, not been invited. Not through lack of skill – I admitted, grudgingly, that the boy had constructed a decent deck. But he had never used that talent, had been content to simply watch others win matches and titles without participating. I had no respect for someone like that, but at least it had served me now. Who could suspect someone of robbery when he wasn't even officially there?

* * *

I crouched in the darkness with my eyes fixed on my target. All of my senses were on hyper-alert, aware of every subtle change in the surrounding forest. My quarry had stopped for the night, and for the first time since he had arrived, he was far away from all other duelists bar his own friends. His secluded position practically invited foul play.

I had slipped on to the ship to the island with a practiced ease the night before it was set to launch. Pegasus's burly guards, so quick to catch Joey Wheeler the following morning (I had watched from my hiding place and sneered at his pathetic efforts to sneak on board), were not expecting trouble the day _before_ they sailed. The security was contemptibly lax, and I was safely holed up in the bow before anyone was even aware of my presence. 

Impatient and excited as I was, the voyage seemed interminable. My hiding place, an unused cubbyhole of a closet far in the back of the storage rooms, was out of the way and reasonably comfortable, but it provided nothing in the way of entertainment. I came dangerously close to summoning a few Man-Eater Bugs to have some fun with the guards (who deserved it for being so incompetent). That, however, would have no doubt instigated a boat-wide search for more of the monsters, which I certainly did not need. Work must come before pleasure, after all.

Not that it wouldn't be a pleasure to steal Yugi's puzzle.

I had a few bad moments, specifically the first night when I chanced sneaking out of hiding to measure the ship's progress. The very idea of an island, reached by boat and surrounded by sea, was fascinating to me – I had never seen a body of water larger than an oasis, save the Nile River. As I leaned against the ship rail, I had the uncomfortable feeling that I was being watched, but no one revealed himself, and the feeling disappeared shortly after I heard a loud commotion from farther down the ship. I finally decided it was nothing, but to be safe I did not venture from the cargo hold again.

I tensed at the first sign of abnormal movement from the nearby camp. As I watched, the older girl who had shared her provisions with Yugi walked away from the tiny fire, leaving only Yugi's small circle of friends with him. 

It was time to move.

Carefully, I stood from my hiding place and began stalking towards the firelit camp. I had almost reached them before I realized my error – the Bakura that these people knew would never be able to sneak up on them unawares. I reversed for about ten yards and then strode forward, purposefully breaking twigs and crashing through the underbrush. The noise was loud enough that I couldn't make out Yugi's reaction to my advance, but I soon found out when I stepped into the clearing. Joey had freaked out at my approach and Tea looked rather nervous. Joey, at least, looked embarrassed when he saw who it was.

"Aw, for a minute there I thought we had something to worry about."

I fumed inwardly. It revolted every instinct I possessed to be thought of as weak, and I cursed my host's soft-seeming exterior. Then I realized the delicious irony of the situation and smiled. Joey had much more to worry about then he ever dreamed.

"What are you doing here, Bakura?" I jumped a little – I should have anticipated that question! I racked my brains for a moment before coming up with an answer. "The same thing you are, I guess," I replied, making sure to alter my voice to imitate Ryou's soft tones. There! A vague answer, not revealing anything, yet enough to satisfy them. I took a moment and basked in my own brilliance. I _deserved_ to gain the Millennium Items and rule the world, so that each person could receive the benefits of my genius. 

As I had expected, Yugi and his friends accepted me without question. I sat quietly at the edge of their circle, waiting for my opportunity to come.

Joey gave me the opening I needed. In his typical blustering attitude, he told the little group that he pretended to actually be the card that he played, which lead to a conversation about each player's favorite Duel Monster card. I could hardly believe my luck. I had realized immediately that I would need to get rid of Yugi's friends before attempting anything, and this discussion gave me the perfect idea.

When the question inevitably turned to me, I pulled out the Change of Heart, barely holding back a smirk. These fools had no idea why _this_ was my favorite card. Anything that could deliver such an effective punishment was ideal in my book. After giving my answer, I suggested a little game before we went to bed – just for fun, of course.

Of course.

"There's something I'd like to show you all – especially you, Yugi," I said, smiling a bit nastily. I held my hands in front of my chest and concentrated, cherishing the familiar feeling of magic racing through me. In the next moment my Millennium Ring had materialized around my neck, to various gasps and exclamations from Yugi's friends. 

"Another Millennium Item!" cried Yugi. I nearly rolled my eyes at the statement. What did the dunderhead think it was, a good luck charm? Joey muttered something about hating magic, but I wasn't paying attention to him. My moment had arrived, and I would not ruin it now. It took all of my concentration to summon the Shadow Realm up around us – I had not done it in five thousand years. As I felt the magic swell around me in its familiar patterns, however, I smirked and could not help but indulge in a bit of theatrics. 

"I am a thief and a stealer of souls – and I have done terrible things in my quest to possess the Millennium Items." I was really laying it on thick, taking a sadistic pleasure from the fear in their faces. I had dropped my affectation of Ryou's voice, and the looks on their faces as "Ryou's" voice and demeanor changed so drastically were priceless. "And now the magic of my Millennium Ring will take us all to the Shadow Realm!" 

In the next second, the draining effects of the Realm overwhelmed their weak mortal bodies, and as one they collapsed upon the ground. I summoned the power of the Ring again, and trapped their souls within Yugi's deck. I didn't want to kill them – the last thing I needed was the police out looking for a murderer, and they would surely die if left unprotected in the Shadow Realm. I, of course, had no problem – as a spirit, the Realm could barely affect me at all.

I stared for a moment at Yugi's fallen form. I couldn't believe it – a few days ago I had despaired of ever leaving Domino to search for the Items, and now one was right within my grasp! I reached towards the still body to take the Puzzle.

To my shock and dismay, the Puzzle began to glow, and in the next moment Yugi sat up and opened his eyes!

This was impossible! I had trapped his soul in his own card; there was no way he could have escaped! I extended my senses in a panic towards Yugi's deck, and in a moment reassured myself that all four souls still resided within. So how could this be?

Then it struck me, and I cursed myself for a fool. Yugi's Puzzle must also contain a spirit, much like myself. Just because I had not known of another such imprisonment did not mean that one could not exist. No matter. This would only alter my plans. I could just as easily win the Puzzle as steal it – just because I preferred the latter method did not mean I was incapable of the first.

No, the thing that bothered me was the odd sense of familiarity the new spirit gave me. It was very unsettling. I shrugged it off and we began the duel.

"I will play the Flame Swordsman! Joey's favorite card," the not-Yugi spirit said. I grinned nastily. I couldn't wait to see his face when he realized just what – or whom – he had summoned to the field.

The look on his face was very rewarding, and so was Joey's when he realized just how he was dressed. The other spirit tried to explain things, but he did such a poor job that even I didn't blame Joey for not understanding. The blonde thought about it – I could nearly see the steam rising from his ears – and gave up, deciding instead to attack. Just what I had wanted.

The maniacal smile on my Morphing Jar enveloped Joey for an instant, then dissipated. As I discarded my hand, I watched the other closely, waiting for him to make the connection. There! Judging by the shocked expression on his face, he had just realized what would happen if a Morphing Jar was attacked when a soul card was in his hand - but if he played them, they were in danger as well. I leered at him. Adding nasty choices and risks to a game was simply delicious.

The game progressed just as I could have wanted. I enjoyed toying with the other spirit, placing facedown card after facedown card, playing with his mind as much as with the cards. Before long all four soul cards were on the field, though they had made some pathetic attempts to hide the girl. I sneered at their stupidity. 

The boy with the strange hair and Wheeler had both died once, brought back by a cleverly used Monster Reborn. Now was the time to use one of my favorite cards. "Just Desserts!" I cried, flipping the card over. I smirked as the other spirit nearly collapsed from losing so many life points. Now was the time to end it. I pulled one final card out of my hand and held it for a moment, enjoying the irony. Then I placed it on the field.

Ryou materialized on the field, pale and ghostly as the Change of Heart. I didn't listen to the others' exclamations of surprise when they saw him. _Now, _I thought, _now is the final revenge. You refused to help me willingly – now you will do it on my terms. _I would take over the little Yugi and destroy every one of his friends – and Ryou would help me do it. Sick, sadistic pleasure rushed through my veins and made me feel almost weak. 

What? **_No_**!

Ryou had moved – but not to control Yugi. He had possessed my Lady of Faith! For a moment I was lost in the impossibility if his actions. How could he defy my orders? He was part of me! 

"Quickly, Yugi! Attack me and win against the evil Bakura!"

Another shock ran through me. _No_, I though dazedly, _no, he can't do this_… This betrayal ran even deeper than his previous one. I missed Yugi's response in my disbelief. This was unforgivable. 

Ryou was talking again. "I don't care! It's better than being enslaved by an evil spirit!" At this I recovered. Anger rushed through me in a flood, ten times as strong for being delayed even for a moment. Enslaved? The weak fool shouldn't even exist! If anything, _he_ was the one keeping me captive in his own weak body, trying to steal what was rightfully mine! 

Fury burned though me, hotter and sweeter and more powerful than ever before. Its seductive call consumed me, and as I surrendered to it I failed to see the not-Yugi reach for his Puzzle until it was too late. Before I could react, he activated the spell to return Ryou to his body – and place me on the field in his place.

I cried out as I felt my mind fall from my host's body. Quicker than I could think I found myself standing on the field, dressed as the Lady of Faith and staring down the business end of the Dark Magician's staff. The twerp Yugi raised his hand.

"Dark Magic attack!" 

My heart (assuming I still possessed one) knew it before my mind did. Even as I screamed in anger and frustration, a part of me had already accepted the reality of the situation, had almost anticipated it. My scream became one of agony as the Dark Magician's attack vaporized my body, but not even the pain could hold back the realization that I had failed. I was being sent to the Graveyard, and this time there would be no escape…

I landed in the midst of tombstones, still reeling from the attack. I had stood there for only moments when I sensed a presence, and I spun around to see a figure from nightmares rushing towards me. The Reaper of the Cards. 

For a moment I knew fear. I despised people who were constantly afraid, my host being one of them, but at that precise instant terror over took me like it never had before. I was going to die, truly die this time, and I would never get back, never, and the Pharaoh in all his arrogance would win –

No!

The last realization shook me out of my terror. I would never allow the Pharaoh to best me again. I opened myself to the depths of my shadow powers – weakened after sustaining a battle in the Shadow Realm, but there nonetheless. I pulled deep inside myself to summon one of my favorite monsters.

It is difficult to summon a monster without a card to provide a focus. However, I had formed a special relationship with this particular monster long ago, and after an agonizing moment, it responded to my call. The Man-Eater Bug reared up from behind a tombstone, stopping the Reaper in its tracks. It was too wise to attack a Man-Eater, unfortunately, and it fled into the distance. I stopped my creature from pursuit and allowed it to vanish. I would need all of my strength. 

Then I noticed that the pain from the attack had not gone away. In fact, if anything it was growing stronger. I barely held in a cry of pain as a fresh wave of agony rolled over me. What was wrong?

A new wave of pain drove me to my knees. My breath came in short, shallow gasps. What had the little brat done to me? Was this some kind of curse? Instinctively, I reached into my mind, trying to hide within my soul room – and came up with nothing. Without a host body, I was just a spirit. I had no body to return to, to hide in. This pain was amazingly familiar…

I couldn't help but scream as I realized that my soul had been ripped apart again. It had not been like this while Ryou lay imprisoned in the Change of Heart card, but then both halves had still been in the same plane – unlike now, when one part resided in the real world and the other in the Shadow Realm. I could feel the excruciating pain begin to overwhelm me. I couldn't take this, not again! I screamed aloud, blindly reaching out with my senses, desperately searching for relief I knew I could not find. 

Until I did.

Like a shining beam of light, _something_ reached through me and blocked the pain. The sudden termination of the pain nearly shocked me into letting it go. This light – it reminded me of my time in the Ring, when Ryou's soul had invaded my prison and soothed away my pain. In fact, it felt _exactly_ the same. 

The feeling was unmistakable. Somehow, Ryou's soul was still reaching me in the Shadow Realm. _The Ring!  He must still have the Ring! _I thought crazily. The Ring connected me to my other half, and as long as Ryou possessed the Ring, there was still hope.

I laughed. I couldn't help it. My laughter filled the dark realm, as I sat wild with relief. All I needed was Ryou to venture within the Shadow Realm himself to return to him, and with another Millennium Item around, it was almost a forgone conclusion that he would return to the Realm _some_time. I reached through my bond to the Ring, calling on its magic to form a shield between the Realm and myself. Protected, all I needed was time and patience. 

Thanks to the Pharaoh, I had both in abundance.

_Please Review._


End file.
